Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Family Business

Every so often you just run into those special customers who end up becoming closer to you than you expect... We helped build their car, and in the process watched their relationship grow, from boyfriend/girlfriend, to bride/groom and to now a family of 3 with their newly added baby. Check out a flashback of their Honda Tuning Article!

Splashed across the lower portion of the windshield on Ernie and Jenny Pillado's '02 Civic Si is a banner for the crew Show Stoppers USA. More than a simple affiliation sticker, the labeling also accurately reflects what happens when people-car nuts or not-see the hatchback for the first time. The Si literally has the power to stop others in their tracks, and Ernie illustrates his point with a funny little anecdote on the day we interviewed him for this article."I pulled the car out [to drive around] today, and I got pulled over," he starts. "The officer had never seen an EP3 before. I had to explain to him it was a show car and that I only drive it once in awhile. I thought he was going to give me a ticket, which is the last thing I need, but he was just amazed. He was cool with it; he let me go. He just wanted to see what the car was all about."We're guessing that's how most react when they see the sick Milano red rocket-what is up with that car? And how can I mod my ride to get me out of tickets? We pondered these subjects and more when we spent a few minutes with Ernie going over the finer points of his and his wife's resplendent EP3. Keep reading.HT: How did you see things turning out? Was there a goal for this build?EP: [The Si] was a project for both my wife and me. Modding cars is kind of a hobby for us, so when we got the car we jumped into it, at first building it to our taste. Then we started attending car shows and seeing some of the themes people were using. We really didn't know what we were getting into when we bought the car, but once we saw what others were doing [with the hatchback] we adopted a JDM look. We had to see what others were doing before we figured out what we would do.HT: Sounds like there was no hard and fast plan for the project, it just sort of evolved as time passed.EP: Pretty much. We just began with stuff we liked. I mean, what we have now-all the JDM stuff-is to our taste.

HT: Did you have to make any compromises for the little lady? Any arguments ever erupt over parts?EP: A lot of times it was a debate. There was always a little discussion, but in the end we both had to compromise. I have an '01 Civic that I'm swapping a Type-S motor into, so I kinda know a little more than she does. She's still learning, so when it came to deciding on tuning elements, she would always give me the lead.